EARTHLY DRAGON, SOARING PALM

by Derek Dorris

  Just then, Yu Guo Wei threw his arms out and caught the encroaching Wong Shi Hong with unreal strength. Yu Guo Wei bit down on his side tooth and a yellow gas shot straight for Wong Shi Hong's face. As the great wanderer stumbled backwards and fell to the ground, Yu Guo Wei let out an unmerciful cry of victory.

  Turning his sights, he immediately headed for Folding Wind. The two men met in an equally crunching collision, the impact of which, the Taoist used to temporarily knock Wen Weisheng backwards. Tao Huiqing unleashed a whirlwind of kicks towards Yu Guo Wei who used Gilded Divinity’s all powerful skill to defend and attack simultaneously. But Wen Weisheng was back in the fight within seconds and now Folding Wind was being attacked from two sides.

  Three Grandmasters had become two, and two were now quickly becoming one. Moreover, as Xun Da and the guardian monks were slipping increasingly towards defeat, the troubled crowd of Liu fighters looked at each other helplessly.

  Wangchuk Drup glanced over at Yu Guo Wei, the secret martial arts of Gilded Divinity creating an awesome spectacle. So, there was much you never taught me, he thought in anger but not being able to do anything about it, he simply reached for the exhausted Xun Da’s neck to vent his anger. Everyone else took their cue from this and moved in for their respective kills.

  At that very moment, two things happened at once. Firstly, Yu Guo Wei found himself being pulled backwards away from Folding Wind, flipped over, and driven head first into the ground. Secondly, a person who Wulin had only begun to come to grips with descended as if from the heavens in a state far more powerful than anyone could have expected.

  Bai Feng had arrived.

  Earthly Dragon, Soaring Palm

  Looking into the guardian monks’ eyes whilst lying broken on that stretcher, Bai Feng had achieved a moment of clarity like none he had ever experienced. The constraints on his mind loosened and his inner power began to realign. His breathing slowed and deepened, his body felt like it was brimming with a refined vigour. Suddenly, Tu Ling's role in his family's massacre didn't matter. She was more than repentant yet even that didn't matter. For the first time, the very notion of family honour struck Bai Feng as entirely empty. With Tu Ling in his grasp, he sped for the wilderness and didn't stop until they were deep in the southern mountains.

  Putting her down gently, he bowed low and deep before her. “Ling’er. I owe you an apology. I held my family's murder against you for fear of shaming their name. That held me back and weakened my mind. Yet all that is fallacy. I see it now. You and my family are both my future.”

  Tu Ling had never seen Bai Feng like this before. His words were soft and sincere but imbued with power. She saw his eyes filled with love and passion and felt hot blood rising in her chest. She cried in happiness and embraced Bai Feng without saying a word.

  Over the next few weeks, Bai Feng recovered fully and his immense inner strength felt perfectly settled. He knew he could now match most of the Greats with his internal strength alone but that would involve turning his back on the Earthly Dragon way and he would ultimately suffer from the conflict of the world—as he had repeatedly done over the last few months. The essential truth he discovered was internal strength during combat didn't just choke his martial arts; it was a gateway to all the petty stresses and anxieties that eat away at people's ego on a daily basis. That life wasn't for him.

  However, he still had a problem to solve. He had learned a series of wonderful external kung fu styles but none of them could be used effectively without tapping his internal strength. The Earthly Dragon Style was unique in Wulin in that it didn't encourage the use of internal strength yet it still couldn't overcome the internal strength of a powerful opponent. That was after all the reason why none of the current guardians had left Earthly Mountain and indeed why each of the martial grandmasters who did leave to roam the Jianghu had all failed. Overcoming this problem, as Kwan Dang stated before Bai Feng left Earthly Mountain, would require him to refine the Earthly Dragon Style to a point where it could withstand any amount of internal power.

  Determined to succeed, he spent his days meditating on the strengths and weaknesses of the Earthly Dragon Style and all its forms, not to mention the Silver Fire Form and Liao Quan's Lightning Arm Stances. How to fight power without using power? It was the one question that rang constantly in the back of his head.

  Finally, something occurred to him. It's like the Reverend Tai said—use their own power against them.

  He began extrapolating on the now deceased Fourth Guardian’s Empty Palm Form because it possessed many variations, all of which attempted to use an opponent's own momentum against him. He sparred with Tu Ling night and day using that style alone but there was an inherent problem. “Power is not something you can see coming,” he said to himself and Tu Ling both. “You can only feel it.” However, because you typically don't make contact with your opponent’s body until the moment their strike impacts you, there's no way to feel it until it's too late. “How do you redirect something when you only identify it at the last split-second?” he would ask aloud.

  The Reverend spoke of becoming one with your opponent while my masters spoke of a painter becoming one with his canvass. Could that be linked to the idea of predicting where and when their internal power is going to flow?”

  Tu Ling didn't like mentioning his parents to him but she suddenly thought of something. “Feng'er, on that awful day at your family's compound...” She was relieved to see that Bai Feng didn't even blink on hearing her refer to this.

  “Yes?”

  “Your parents and uncles gave the Jade Tigers serious trouble practicing a style of kung fu that used the Jade Tigers’ own power against them. Perhaps, your family’s martial art has some answers for you?”

  “Hmm. Unfortunately, that style is incomplete.”

  “But maybe there are some helpful ideas within it.”

  Bai Feng put a knuckle to his lips and thought for a moment. Slowly, he reached into his robe and removed the Soaring Palm manual. He stared at the leather bound book, caressing it with a warm tenderness. In the absence of any guilt or shame, he realised he was looking at his father’s life's work with deep affection. Beforehand, he didn't even want to acknowledge the manual because it reminded him of his family and those complex feelings of shame, pride, and anger. But now he couldn't think of his family enough. The warmth of those thoughts filled his soul and kept his internal energy at bay. The more he held it, the more he wanted to absorb its contents completely, if for no other reason than to feel even closer to his father.

  He opened the first page and re-read that inscription. The words “Soaring Palm” sparked something in the back of his mind. Seemingly of their own volition, his fingers began flicking through the pages and, as they did, his eyes lit up. There, within the pages of the manual, was a complete system for becoming one with your opponent—a close-quarters combat style based entirely on physical touch. A style that utilised no internal strength yet relied on the opponent's constantly changing pressure and the manner in which our body’s structure reacted to it. A style not based on techniques but on a simple set of ideas.

  “In the first instance,” it read on the very first page, “establish contact. If the contact drops or weakens, then attack. If the contact is strong, then yield. If maintained evenly, then match the opponent's pressure and wait for one of the above to occur.”

  The entire artform was built on the principle of physically sticking to your opponent—arms on arms, legs on legs. It reminded him of the Seven Winds Form that the First Nameless Guardian instructed him in—yet infinitely more refined. Of course, he could not know it but Soaring Palm Kung Fu was a direct descendant of that form.

  Bai Feng practiced with Tu Ling with minimal amounts of rest in between each session. She used her Jade Tiger kung fu and he the Soaring Palm Style—executed according to the four simple principles. As he was using no internal power in his strikes, he couldn't inadvertently hurt her. He simply matched the pressure of her limbs until it
retreated, provided an opening, or exceeded her control. In which case, he sent his arms through in attack or, in the latter case, shifted his centre line and allowed her uncontrolled momentum to take her body towards his fists. Yet the power of his attacks was always determined by the power of her previous contact.

  Thus, Tu Ling only had to contend with her own power coming back at her. However, if Infinite Sky or Yu Guo Wei were here, they would find their own gargantuan power coming back at them in rolling waves of attack.

  Try as he did, Bai Feng couldn't figure out why his father had declared this style incomplete. As far as he could tell, it worked profoundly without flaw. However, his father didn't possess his son’s unique perspective on the world nor had he the additional training in ego purging. Thus, try as his father did to unify with his opponents through constant physical contact, his desire for victory ensured that he always separated him from them mentally.

  Bai Feng's father—like his father before him—failed to recognise that true unification with one’s opponent involved both a physical and mental connection. Bai Feng did not. He had long mastered the internal art of selflessness and though he recently lost his way, he now grasped it more robustly than ever. With his mind clear, he could, once again, encompass both himself and his opponent into one perception. However, using the Soaring Palm Style he could now—for the first time in the history of Earthly Dragon martial arts—establish an unwavering physical connection too. Soaring Palm was the kung fu style his sect had been seeking all along—an external art form that wouldn't undermine their internal style.

  Bay Feng was ready—ready to re-enter the Jianghu.

  The Head of the Snake

  Wong Shi Hong had feigned unconsciousness when Yu Guo Wei expelled his poison directly into his face. What the hunchback had not counted on was Wong Shi Hong's previous experience with that same compound. Unbeknownst to him, his apprentice had used it on Wong Shi Hong already but purposefully hadn’t told his master about it. Knowing the Majestic Wanderer would have developed at least a partial tolerance to it, the Yarlese was hoping it might work against his master at a crucial moment—a moment a lot like this one. And thus, Wong Shi Hong got back up and approached Yu Guo Wei from behind. Grabbing the hunchback by his shoulders, he swung him up in the air, over, and down, embedding Yu Guo Wei face first in the ground.

  At that same moment, with the shock of seeing the same kid who had previously given them so much grief, Wen Weisheng and Wen Zhu fell back from Fu Xiaoli and Tao Huiqing. Their concern wasn’t the kid per se but the possibility Liao Quan might be here with him. Jade Zither stepped back and smiled curiously at Bai Feng while readying her xiao to shoot a series of darts if needed. She had no idea how strong this new player was yet she could tell instantly he had an extraordinary air about him.

  Having beaten him twice before, only Wangchuk Drup felt no concern over Bai Feng's arrival. “Nice of you to arrive in time for me to execute your friend, young master Bai,” he said as he reached down for Xun Da's neck. “I'll add his head to your martial uncle’s…”

  Bai Feng felt no anger at this attempt to rile him but his soul had been a stirred by all the miraculous fighting he had just witnessed. Twitching to be a part of it, he flew toward the Yarlese with a grace and energy that seemed to contradict each other. However, unlike before, his goal was not to smash straight into his opponent but rather to initiate a far softer interaction.

  Feeling Bai Feng's arms resting softly on his own arms, Wangchuk Drup immediately referred to his internal strength and tried to crush Bai Feng with his double palms. Instead, like a ball of cotton wool, Bai Feng's body collapse in and on itself.

  With Wangchuk Drup’s attacking arms fully extended, Bai Feng uncoiled like a taut spring and his arms slid up the inside of his attacker’s two arms. Within the beat of a dragonfly's wings, Wangchuk Drup's entire power was channelled back into his chest with all the crushing force that was meant for Bai Feng.

  The Yarlese had put his entire inner strength into the attack and for Bai Feng to absorb it and send it right back at him was lethal. With his torso feeling like it was being held together with string, he stumbled backwards in horror and fell onto his buttocks. Bright red blood gushed from his mouth, down onto his broken chest. What trick did he use? he wondered with a sickening sense of denial.

  Sitting on the ground like a heap of old bones, his internal organs shattered within, he stared disbelievingly at the young man who approached him with a calm smile and bright shining eyes. Bai Feng reached down for his neck in the same manner the Yarlese had attempted with Xun Da, fingers around his spine, a thumb under his chin. He squeezed and Wangchuk Drup's pain was ended.

  The remaining experts stood like statues. Even Wong Shi Hong, who had Yu Guo Wei in as vulnerable a position as he ever had, momentarily forgot his arch nemesis. He was elated at what he just witnessed. It lasted only a split second, yet it was the Earthly Dragon ideal in all its glory; gargantuan inner power overcome by pure external kung fu—completely pure, selfless, and miraculous to behold.

  The significance of the event wasn't lost on Xun Da either and dismissing the epic battle he was just part of, he ran to Bai Feng and embraced him. Fu Xiaoli had met Bai Feng only months earlier yet even she was rocked by his recent and quite miraculous advances. Of course, those most profoundly affected were the four Guardians. Joyous tears streamed their faces. It was a moment they had given everything in their lives to witness and whether it was they or their martial nephew who succeeded, it mattered not.

  In all the commotion, Wen Weisheng and Wen Zhu saw Yu Guo Wei stumble to his feet and flee for the main gates. They nodded to Jade Zither who followed. The Liu soldiers simply let them go. It was a tactical error on their part. With Bai Feng on their side, the soldiers guarding against their escape were suddenly under the impression they were invincible. Yet, what nobody other the true Greats could appreciate was, although Wangchuk Drup had ascended to the level of a grandmaster, he was still far off the level of Yu Guo Wei or Wong Shi Hong. Bai Feng's kung fu had ascended beyond the Yarlese's but not beyond theirs—at least, not yet.

  * * *

  When only four of his grandmasters returned to the Qui camp, Rui'In was greatly troubled. He had lost close to a thousand men in that attack and one grandmaster. While the enemy, it seemed, had gained a strong new ally. Rui'In was still a military man and believed wholeheartedly in the ability of the well equipped, well trained many to overcome the few no matter how strong those few are. He went toe to toe with the Liu’s masters because he wanted to break the nation’s spirit. That plan may have hit a setback but he could still wipe out Gongsum and take down the two pillars of Wulin in one fell swoop. In achieving his goals, that will be just as effective, if not more so.

  The city sat proudly in front of him and the dawning sky. “Fine,” he said. “Let's do it the traditional way. Send the catapults forward.”

  Bai Feng had barely enough time to tell Wong Shi Hong and his martial uncles about his recent advances when boulders coated in burning oil began flying over the city walls. Guarding against potential poisons of Yu Guo Wei's invention, everybody wrapped their faces in wet rags and controlled their breathing as soon as they found cover from the barrage.

  The bombardment lasted for about an hour and much of the city was on fire. Xun Da and Li Jing were busy coordinating the fire-fighting when shouts were heard from the wall. Xun Da kicked off the ground and flew to the wall in a matter of seconds. Plenty of time to see the battering rams and cloud bridges being rolled forward. The latter were giant ramps with grappling ropes attached. As they came within close distance of the walls, the grappling ropes would be thrown over the walls and when they caught hold, they would be used to pull the ramps flush to the wall. From there, the soldiers would simply charge over. Li Jing caught up and appraised the situation before sharing a nervous look with Xun Da.

  “Everything depends on this,” Xun Da whispered to the heavens.

  As the siege machiner
y approached within twenty-five meters of the wall, Li Jing gave the order. About twenty-five meters out from the gate and fifteen meters under the ground, a hundred meter long subterranean trench had been dug that spanned all the way back to the foundations of the city's walls. Within the trench, three hundred thick timber columns and spans of strong timber were holding up the very ground the Qui’s machinery was about to roll over. At Li Jing's order, rows of strong men started to pull on every second and third column. In seconds, there was only the most tenuous of support for the ground above them.

  Xun Da and Li Jing watched as the battering rams and cloud bridges rolled over the area in question. Nothing was happening. Could we have miscalculated? Suddenly, the ground to their left opened, swallowing two battering rams. Seconds later, the rest of the strip gave way.

  Waiting just behind with five thousand of his most elite troops, Rui'In watched as the earth gorged on his precious siege machinery. Then, without time to think, the sky darkened and brightened almost simultaneously. Thousands of burning arrows rained over his and his soldiers’ heads. The first batch landed behind them, the second batch in front. Rui'In knew something was wrong. “Cover your faces!” he shouted but the noise from the falling machinery and general panic smothered his normally booming voice. Before he could reach his nearest commander, the officer had keeled over. To the Qui King’s shock, he wasn’t unconscious but dead.

  Rui'In was certain the Liu were using Yu Guo Wei's poison against them. After all, it was being aerosolised through fire. Only he had expressly ordered Yu Guo Wei to provide a sedative. They even tested it successfully. It was then Rui'In realised Yu Guo Wei had purposefully switched the poisons. He looked for the deceitful hunchback but couldn't see him in the panic. Rui'In had soaked a strip of cloth with his water flask and covered his face with it so, for the time being, he was managing to avoid inhaling too much of the poison. However, he needed to escape quickly. His Eight Knives were close to him and their internal energies were so immense they simply held their breath while they surrounded and spirited their king back to where the main force was based.